


Taking My Heart by Storm

by yourgirlmickey



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Also Lance calls Pidge 'small lettuce', Also the title is from a song because I'm trash, Babysitter AU, But he does think he's cute, But mostly just one main one and she's a really cute baby, Eventual Smut, I hope you like it anyway though, I'll keep adding tags as we go, Keith doesn't like Lance at first because wth not, Keith is so gay, Lance is BEAUTIFUL, Lance is totally head over heels at first sight I swear, Lance sings in Spanish, M/M, Not Lance and Keith's baby though, Pining Lance (Voltron), Short chapters that add up to a big story, Some Spanish which is hopefully correct, This is probably going to be so cliche I'm sorry, This isn't m-preg I promise, Time Traveler AU, Which blesses my soul please let me live, also some swearing, hispanic lance, how could you not?, idk why, klance for life, some original characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-20
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-10-21 03:51:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10677105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourgirlmickey/pseuds/yourgirlmickey
Summary: "Lance had seen cute boys, obviously, but like this? Jesus christ, even in the midst of what seemed to be a crisis, his bisexual mind could freeze because there was someone attractive in front of him. Although, Lance decided, this was a bit different. This boy was hot. If the shape of his muscly, perfectly shaped body didn’t give it away, his smooth, angelic face definitely did. The only problem?He had a mullet."________Or the one where Lance is a baby sitter who falls for the time traveler who saved him, but he doesn't belong there because the situation has nothing to do with him- does it?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Thank you so much for checking out this fic! I love Voltron and I ship Klance super hard, so I'm just excited to be writing this fic. I'll try to update as often as possible! Please feel free to leave me your thoughts and criticisms in the comments! Stay tuned!

Lance McClain smiled at the one year old seated in his lap as she stared up at him with big eyes while simultaneously sucking on a wooden block. She had pink, chubby cheeks (naturally), and bright blue eyes that always seemed to look at everything curiously. 

“Hey, Lance, did you get the diaper bag packed with everything?” Betsy asked, entering the baby-gated living room with her tennis shoes in hand. 

“Yes, ma’am. I think I got everything stocked up pretty well,” he answered as the elderly woman sat down beside him and began to put her shoes on. “If the zombie apocalypse happens, Lily should be covered, at least,” he added, chuckling. 

Betsy laughed lightly. “Thanks, Lance.”

Lily began giggling quite suddenly before saying, “Buh-buh-buh-buh-buh!”

“That’s right!” Lance exclaimed, bouncing her a little on his knee. “Buh-buh-buh-buh-buh!” 

“I’m so excited about this! It will be her first time going to the Zoo,” Betsy said, standing up carefully. 

It was strange, Lance thought on occasion, for grandparents to raise their grandchildren. It wasn’t uncommon, though, and Lance didn’t disagree with it. He knew as well as anyone that Betsy and her husband were amazing caretakers, but that didn’t mean that they should be raising a one year old child. And maybe the other reason why it bothered Lance was because he was so close to his parents and his siblings. He came from such a large family, after all, and the thought of not being able to grow up with a mom caring for you when you’re sick or a dad taking you on crazy adventures that mom would never approve of was just.. An earth shattering kind of idea. 

Lance came back to reality and was about to thank Betsy for letting him help them out at the zoo when there was a loud banging on the day. 

“Oh my god,” Betsy said under her breath. “We both know who that is, showing up unannounced.”

“It’s like she  _ knows _ somehow,” Lance said, slinging the diaper bag over the arm that wasn’t holding a one year old, and standing up. 

“It sure seems that way,” the older woman answered, shaking her head. “Why don’t you take Lily out back in the wagon, Lance? Hopefully this won’t take long.”

Lance made his way over to the glass sliding door that led to a large backyard after nodding. 

Lily’s mom was… a piece of work, for sure. She wasn’t Betsy’s daughter, but she was married to Lily’s dad who was Betsy’s son. They separated two weeks after Lily was born because Lily’s mom went straight back to drugs and alcohol after her baby was born, and she was one hell of a bad person when she was high or drunk. Definitely not fit to be another. Although, Lance thought while he strapped the little girl into the red wagon, her dad wasn’t all that responsible either, or Lily would be in his care. 

It had all become a mess. And now, Lily’s mom would show up drunk or high all the time, demanding to see Lily or sometimes saying that she was going to take her. It was ridiculous. 

Lance began pulling Lily around in her red wagon- which seemed to be her favorite thing in the world -while singing to her in spanish. 

“ _ Duérmete mi niño, duérmete mi amor, _ ” Lance sang, like he had so many times before. “ _ duérmete pedazo de mi corazón. _ ” 

He remembered when his mamá used to sing the song to him as a small child before he fell asleep. As the years went by, as the second oldest child, he would sing it to his younger siblings often. 

“ _ Este niño mío que nació de noche _ ,” he continued, smiling at Lily, whose eyes were busy taking in the green grass and the tall sun flowers and the little fish pond that lived in the backyard. “ _ quiere que lo lleve a pasear en coche.”  _

He could hear raised voices outside now, which wasn’t unusual, but something seemed off with Betsy’s voice. What had Lily’s mom done now?

“ _ Este niño mío- _ ” Lance was cut off by a scream. Betsy’s scream. 

Lance froze, eyes widening, as he stared in the direction of the sound. “What the fuck?” he whispered.

The first thought that came to mind was that Lily’s mom had hurt Betsy in the midst of an argument. He was aware that she was not a nice drunk and he could only imagine what she was like when she was high. There hadn’t been a gunshot, but it was possible that Lily’s mom had a knife or something-

No one else was home to help at the moment, which left Lance in a pickle. Betsy was in some kind of pain or danger or  _ something _ , and he wanted more than anything to find out what was wrong and try to help her. But then again, he couldn’t just leave Lily there alone or take her with him- it wasn’t safe. 

Lance was pulled from his predicament by another one of the older woman’s screams- except this time she shrieked, “Get Lily away from here- get her safe!” 

He knew that message was meant for him, but what the hell did it mean? What was going on? He looked frantically around his environment, the only type of exit being the gate at the very back of the yard that led to some kind of wilderness area with huge overgrown plants and trees. There was no way he could go back toward the house. That was completely out. But into who knows what with a one year old? 

His indecisiveness was broken when he glanced back toward the house and saw-  _ what the fuck _ ? At the gates on either side of the house were tall figures with purple skin and- and cat ears? It was like some kind of weird, trippy sci-fi scene, and Lance was caught in the middle of it. All at once, the figures began pointing and shouting at him and Lily and they began climbing the gate and- _ shit _ -Lance had to do something  _ now _ . 

He fumbled with the straps that held Lily into her wagon while his heart hammered away inside of his chest. As soon as he had the strap undone, he picked her up and held her tightly in his arms as he began running toward the back of the yard. 

Whatever those things behind him were, they were moving  _ fast _ . Now, keep in mind that Lance was tall and skinny and he used to be number one on his high school track team. So there was no way any normal person would be gaining on him so easily, which further proves that those purple cat monsters probably were not human. 

Lance reached the gate, which was higher than his waist, and found the gate to be pad-locked. Pad. Freaking. Locked. 

He turned only to find that, to his horror, the monsters were only ten yards away and coming fast and only to realize that he could not climb the gate with a one year old and they were probably both going to die and he hadn’t even had his first kiss and Lily hadn’t even spoken her first sentence and-

“Hey! Quick, come on!” someone yelled right next to him. He turned back toward the gate and saw a  _ huge, red, robot lion _ . No shit. He stared at it in shock for a few seconds before he noticed its open mouth and the pathway that seemed to lead inside of it- it looked like the lion thing’s tongue. 

“Get in now! Get in the mouth!” a voice yelled out again, coming out loud and clear from the lion, like it was blasting through speakers. 

He didn’t notice at first that his feet were moving, and that he was entering the mouth of a  _ fucking lion robot _ , and that he might not even be safe going in there. But he looked back just in time to see one of the purple cat monsters  _ almost _ grabbing the fabric of his jacket and something told him that he had made the correct choice. 

Inside the lion was a small control room, where a person sat, steering them away from whatever horror had almost claimed Lily and him. For a moment Lance didn’t speak as he considered whether or not he was dreaming. But no, he decided, his dreams were never this realistic- were they? 

“Um,” he said, changing Lily over to rest on his other hip, because damn, even babies start to get heavy after a while. 

The person, wearing what Lance would call one of those super cool biker helmets, turned then and looked him up and down. After a moment he reached up and pulled his helmet off and Lance felt his heart  _ melt _ . 

Lance had seen cute boys, obviously, but like this? Jesus christ, even in the midst of what seemed to be a crisis, his bisexual mind could freeze because there was someone attractive in front of him. Although, Lance decided, this was a bit different. This boy was  _ hot _ . If the shape of his muscly, perfectly shaped body didn’t give it away, his smooth, angelic face definitely did. The only problem? 

He had a mullet. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've received a few comments from interested people already, and I'm so excited!! Thank you for coming to see what chapter two is all about! :D I think it's probably going to become clearer each chapter, but I'm really mixing the canon ideas with my own fictional ideas (I'm doing whatever the hell I want because I have ZERO CONTROL, send help). I hope this story can be really interesting to everyone!! Please comment with your thoughts! I'm realllly reaching too far by using Spanish, so please correct any wrong translations that you see!!!

“Excuse me?” the boy said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Lance blinked at him, his soul (which had started exiting his body at the sight of such a  _ stud) _ coming back to him. His knees were probably still likely to give out, though. 

“Um, what?” Lance asked, awkwardly. 

“I asked who you are.”

He could feel the growing tension between them, and that obviously wasn’t what he was going for. “Name’s Lance. Lance McClain,” he answered, trying to channel his inner charmer. Lance knew it probably wouldn’t do him much good though, seeing that he had a one year old on his hip and a pink diaper bag hanging from his shoulder. 

“Okay, but  _ who are you? _ ” the boy asked again, standing up. 

“Sorry, what?” Lance asked, confused. And also a little light-headed because,  _ holy shit,  _ he was a little bit taller than the other boy and for some reason it  _ mattered _ . 

“Who are you? Why do you have the Blue Paladin?” he continued to interrogate, gesturing toward Lily, who was looking around the room curiously as usual. 

“The Blue what? You mean Lily?” Lance asked, glancing at the little girl in his arms. 

“The Blue Paladin, and sure, if that’s her name. Why do you have her?” 

Lance was growing more and more confused by the second. “Um, I’m her, uh, babysitter.”

“So you know how to take care of her then?” the boy asked, eyebrows raised.

“Well, yeah,” Lance said, wondering what on earth was going on and how Lily, a  _ one year old,  _ could be involved. 

“Oh, good. I guess you aren’t going to be totally useless,” the boy commented, turning to look out the screen in front of the control panel. 

“Useless? What the hell?” Lance asked defensively. 

“Don’t take it personally,” the boy said, pressing some buttons on the control panel. “I came for her but I had to take you, too. At least you can take care of her.” Lance wanted to say anything, ask a million questions, but it was like his voice was broken. “Oh, I’m Keith, by the way. I’m the Red Paladin.”

And suddenly his voice was working again. “Okay, first off, _ Keith _ , why don’t you tell me what the fuck is going on, and second, what is a ‘Paladin’ and why do you think that Lily is one of them?”

Keith turned then, face blank. “I don’t think I can really explain what’s going on very well, but Shiro and Allura probably can. And a Paladin? It means…” he ran his hand through his bangs then, and Lance felt a surge of anger because, as condescending as this guy was, he was still so mind-blowingly attractive and Lance just could not get a grasp on it. “It means that we can pilot lions, like the one we’re in now. The lions come together to make this huge robot called ‘Voltron’.” 

“...Okay, that’s definitely weird, but okay. I’ll just let that one sink in,” Lance mumbled, bouncing Lily on his hip rhythmically in order to help him stay sane. “Back to my other question though, why do you think Lily is a Paladin?”

“Oh, yeah. There was this prophecy,” Keith explained, sitting down and steering them around- a huge rock? It was then that Lance actually took a look out of the huge screen to see that they were in  _ outer fucking space. _ “It was in this alien language, but we were able to decipher it enough to figure out where the last Paladin was located, and it led us there. We got some keywords out of it, like “baby” and, interestingly, she should have a tiny blue paw print somewhere on her body.”

“I have dressed Lily so many times and I’ve never seen anything like that,” Lance said, trying to distract himself from the situation at hand. 

“I’m sure it’s on her somewhere,” Keith said, brushing Lance off like it was nothing. 

Lance puffed out his cheeks, getting even more annoyed by his new (extremely handsome) acquaintance. He remembered something else, then, and asked, “What were those purple cat monsters that were chasing us?”

Keith laughed. He laughed, and Lance felt his stomach do an actual flip while butterflies leaked in from god knows where. “Purple cat monsters? That’s actually pretty funny,” he said after he finished laughing. He had come across so serious and almost cold at first that Lance didn’t know it was possible for the boy to laugh or smile slightly at him like he currently was. “They’re called the Galra, and they’re evil,” he explained. “They were trying to get to the baby before we could.”

“We?” Lance asked, looking around. He was pretty sure they were the only ones on board. “Yeah, the rest of the team. It’s made up of the other Paladins and an alien princess and her- uh, you know, I don’t know what Coran exactly is, but he’s also an important part of the team. Anyway, we’re almost to the castle ship, which is where they are. Just, maybe sit down for a bit and let me concentrate on piloting?”

Keith might as well have been speaking another language because Lance wasn’t totally sure what most of that meant, and he wanted to ask more questions, but he sat down, legs crossed, with Lily in his lap and closed his eyes, wondering if he’d wake up soon or not. 

 

***Vol***Vol...tron?***

 

The ‘castle ship’ was, well, a castle that was a ship, Lance realized when it came into view on the screen. It was gigantic and white and totally straight out of some sci-fi movie. 

Keith piloted the lion into a hangar inside the castle ship, where four other lions sat in wait; one was black and bigger than the others; one was yellow; one was green; and one was blue. They landed and Lance, with Lily settled on his hip again, gingerly followed Keith out of the lion and into the huge hangar. 

“Keith!” a young voice rang out from across the hangar. “Did you find the Blue Paladin?”

Lance turned and saw a group of people heading toward them excitedly. They were all different shapes and sizes, but the one that had called out to Keith was the shortest among the group wearing a green jacket and large, round glasses. 

“I did,” Keith answered, a smile in his voice. 

There were times when Lance got nervous, and this was one of them. Everyone got nervous, of course; it was only normal. But for Lance to get nervous when meeting new people? That was rare. And right at that moment as he watched the group approach them, he felt more nervous than ever. Why? Well, simply, he didn’t really belong there. Keith had made that crystal clear to him. He was just a nanny now, and somehow that didn’t make him feel particularly special. This was, by far, the most insane, cool, and terrifying thing that had ever happened to him- but it wasn’t supposed to be happening to him. He wasn’t supposed to be there. 

The group stopped in front of them, eyeing Lance curiously. “This is the Blue Paladin,” Keith said, pointing toward Lily. “And this is Lance… her babysitter.”

No one said anything for a moment and all Lance could think was that it had to have been the most awkward moment of his entire life. Then a large, muscular man with a scar over his nose and a white streak in his black hair stepped forward and greeted him. “Nice to meet you, Lance. I’m Shiro.”

Lance was thankful that he didn’t usually take too much interest in guys older than him because, damn, if he did, he’d be toast. Shiro was definitely fine specimen, if Lance ever saw one. 

“Um, hi. Nice to meet you, too,” Lance said. The others in the group began introducing themselves as well, which helped to ease the tension. 

“I’m Pidge,” the short one with the glasses said. 

“My name’s Hunk,” a large boy with a yellow strip of fabric tied around his forehead said. 

“Greetings, I’m Coran,” an older man with a weird accent said, twisting the tip of his orange mustache in between his fingertips. 

“And I’m Princess Allura,” a beautiful woman with long, white hair said, stepping forward. “Welcome to the castle ship.”

“Thank you,” Lance said, giving her a quick once over. She was definitely attractive. Maybe not as much as Keith, but she was one of the most beautiful women Lance had ever seen. 

“This is our Blue Paladin?” she asked, gesturing toward the baby in Lance’s arms. 

“Oh, uh, yes. Her name is Lily,” Lance said.

“That sounds like a pretty name,” the Princess commented. She reached out in the little girl’s direction and looked up at Lance. “May I?”

“Sure,” he said after a slight hesitation. He was still in protective mode after everything that had happened. He carefully took Lily off from his hip and handed her to the Princess. 

“Wow, she’s heavier than she looks!” the Princess exclaimed, holding the baby close and smiling. 

Lance laughed, trying to relieve some of his nerves. “She sure is…”

“I had to take him, too, because he had her when I got there. The Galra were chasing them,” Keith explained. “But he knows how to take care of her and, well, the rest of us don’t. So that’s a good thing, right?” 

“Well, Lance didn’t need to be dragged into all of this but it’s too late now,” Shiro said, patting Keith on the back. “I’m sure you’re confused,” he confessed, looking at Lance apologetically. 

Lance shifted uncomfortably and nodded. 

“We’ll explain the best that we can, but why don’t we eat first?” Shiro suggested. 

“Agreed!” Hunk said. 

The group led Lance through the castle ship, which was filled with large corridors, until they reached a dining room. 

“So, Lance, what do you do? On Earth, I mean,” Hunk asked as he started dishing out some kind of green, slimy stuff onto everyone’s plates. 

“I’m a college student,” Lance answered, poking the slime with his spoon. It jiggled. 

“And you’re also a babysitter?” Pidge asked, eyebrows raised. 

“Yeah, I watch Lily almost everyday. Her grandparents have been raising her since… well, almost since she was born, but it’s pretty difficult for them to keep up with a one year old,” Lance explained. 

“But… guys aren’t usually babysitters,” Pidge continued. 

Lance shrugged. He’d had this conversation before. “I know it’s unusual, but my family is close to Lily’s, and I have lots of experience with little kids, so they asked if I could be her sitter.”

“How do you have lots of experience?” Keith asked next to him. 

“I have five younger siblings who I practically raised because my parents worked so much,” he answered, raising the slime to his lips hesitantly. It wasn’t the best thing he’d ever tasted, but it wasn’t as bad as it looked, either. 

“Five?” Shiro asked. “That’s a pretty big family.”

“What can I say? We’re a Hispanic family,” Lance said, feeling his usual charm seeping back into him. 

“Can you speak Spanish?” Pidge asked, genuinely interested. 

Lance wiggled his eyebrows as he answered, “No lo sé, camarones, ¿no?” 

“What did you just say?” Pidge asked, standing up with both palms flat on the table.

There was always a point, no matter the situation, when Lance’s true, goofy and teasing side would come out. Apparently that point was reached. “Supongo que es un secreto, ¿no es usted pequeña lechuga?” Lance asked, striking an Egyptian-like pose. 

Hunk started laughing suddenly from his spot at the table. “Did you just call her ‘small lettuce’?” he asked.

“Hey! How did you-” Lance began but then stopped frozen in his tracks. “Did you say ‘her’?”

“Yeah,” Hunk answered, shoving a spoonful of slime in his mouth. “Pidge is a girl, and I took five years of high school Spanish.”

“Oh,” Lance said, looking at Pidge with wide eyes. “Sorry.”

“No, that’s fine, but did you actually call me ‘small lettuce’?” Pidge asked incredulously. 

“You are wearing a green jacket,” Lance pointed out, trying not to laugh. 

Everyone chuckled at that, which made Lance feel a little more comfortable. 

The sudden comfort was interrupted by sudden crying, though. Lance looked over to Lily who had begun crying and squirming in Allura’s arms. 

He didn’t hesitate to stand up and go over to Lily. Allura offered the baby to him the moment he reached her seat. 

“Did I do something to make her upset?” the Princess asked. She looked worried. 

“I don’t think so,” Lance assured her. “She’s just a fussy one year old,” he said, rocking her in his arms. “She probably needs her diaper changed.”

The room went silent at that and mystified faces could be seen anywhere you looked. “Have… have none of you changed a baby’s diaper before?” 

“Can’t say that I have, buddy,” Hunk answered. 

“No way!” Pidge added. 

Everyone else just shook their head. 

“I can take you to her room so that you can change her,” Keith offered, standing up from the table. 

“Okay,” Lance replied, trying to calm the child in his arms. “Can you grab the diaper bag, please?” he asked, nodding toward the pink bag by his seat. 

“Uh, sure.”

 

***Vol***Vol...tron?***

 

“There we go, good as new!” Lance said in a soft, happy voice to the one year old laying on the changing table below him. 

He picked her up and turned toward the rest of the nursery. Keith looked up at him from where he was leaning against the wall. “We put this makeshift nursery together when we found out the Blue Paladin would be coming to us as a baby,” he said. “Do you think it’s okay?”

Lance considered the crib and changing station and rocking chair. “It lacks color, but it has all the necessities,” he replied. 

“That’s what’s important,” Keith said seriously. 

“She seems tired,” Lance said, changing the subject. “I think she’s about ready to take her morning nap. Do you want to hold her?”

Keith’s strong, serious expression changed to surprise and uncertainty almost immediately. “I don’t know, I don’t have any experience with kids,” he admitted. 

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll help you out!” Lance reassured him, moving to stand next to the rocking chair, which was very white and alien-like. 

“Lance, really, I don’t know-”

“Come on, just sit down in the rocking chair.” 

Keith obeyed but he stilled asked, “Why do you want me to hold her, anyway?”

“Hold your arms out and remember to support her head,” Lance said as he rested the baby in Keith’s arms. “And the answer is simple. She’s your Blue Paladin and I’m guessing that means she’s going to be part of your team some day, right?”

“Well, yeah,” Keith replied, looking down cautiously at Lily.

“Then you gotta start bonding with her now,” Lance finished explaining, 

He watched the other boy look down at the young child and watched the realization settle into him, through the look in his eyes. No one could resist babies or help but feel a pure connection to them, not even Keith. 

“She’s really cute,” Keith said after a couple minutes had passed. 

“Yep, she’s a cute baby. A cute baby who’s ready for a nap, right Lills?” he asked the baby. “Ready to sing her to sleep, Keith?”

Keith’s head snapped up to look at Lance. “I don’t sing,” he said. 

Lance was mostly just teasing, but Keith took it seriously. “Fine, I’ll do it then,” he said, clearing his throat. 

_ “Duerme ya, dulce bien,” _ he sang softly, stroking Lily’s hair gently.  _ “Mi capullo de nardo.” _

Keith was staring at him like he was mesmerized, and Lance felt his knees turn into jello.

_ “Despacito duermete como la abeja en la flor.” _

Why was it this boy with a mullet? And why was it in the midst of danger and confusion and this huge, overwhelming sense of not belonging?

_ “Duerme ya, dulce bien, duerme ya, dulce amor.” _

Lance was so tired of always falling for people and falling so easily, at that. But why now, why was it the boy with the beautiful eyes that was staring up at him in awe, and why could he practically map out the constellations in his eyes? And why did this crush feel  _ so different? _

_ “Dulces sueños tendrás al oir mi canción.” _

They had only just met, and most of their interactions hadn’t been all that great, but Lance was already getting lost in his eyes. 

He picked the sleeping child up and out of Keith’s arms and layed her down in the crib. 

“Thank for helping me put her to sleep,” he told Keith in a weak voice. 

Keith visibly gulped, which made Lance feel dizzy. “Sure, anytime.”

Lance knew he would be a goner if he didn’t reign himself in, and fast. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK ME SO LONG TO UPDATE, FINALS HIT ME LIKE A BUS. 
> 
> BUT I got all As and one B so I'm happy and now I have lots of time to write this fic! I really hope you guys like this fic... Klance gives me life and I just really love writing about them falling in love SO MUCH. Thanks for reading :)

Lance sat on the couch next to Keith and Hunk, Shiro across from him, and the others scattered and sitting around them. 

“I’m not sure how much Keith told you,” Shiro began, glancing at Keith, “but, to put it simply, we’re the Paladins of Voltron; Keith, Hunk, Pidge, and I. But we’ve been missing the Blue Paladin for months now, and we finally found her. The problem if that she’s still so… little.”

“She’s very cute, though,” Allura added from Shiro’s side.

“That’s true,” Shiro agreed, smiling at her.  _ Oh,  _ Lance thought,  _ they have a thing for each other. _ “Anyway, we found this ancient prophecy that told us where we could find the Blue Paladin, although we couldn’t decipher very much of it. Just enough to figure out where we had to go and that we were looking for a baby. We didn’t even know she’d be a girl,” Shiro admitted. 

“Finally, another girl Paladin!” Pidge exclaimed. 

Everyone chuckled, even Lance, who felt like he needed to follow everyone else along for the time being. 

“The Galra found the prophecy too, though,” Shiro continued. “It sounds like Keith got there just in time.”

“Um, these Galra… Keith told me that they’re evil, but who are they and what do they want?” Lance asked.

The room fell silent for a moment, and Lance worried he’d asked some kind of taboo question.

“They’ve destroyed tons of planets, killed thousands- maybe even millions,” Allura answered slowly after a moment. “Their leader, Zarkon, wants Voltron. He wants to use Voltron to gain control over the entire galaxy…”

Lance shifted- no, he squirmed. Last night, aliens had just been speculation and his closest connection to aliens was the meme of the crazy guy from “Ancient Aliens”. But now? Now he was somehow tangled up in some plot to save the galaxy from evil aliens, and he wasn’t even supposed to be tangled up it because he was seemingly useless- except for being a nanny. It freaked him out. But what freaked him out more than that? His arm brushed  _ Keith’s  _ arm while he squirmed and he felt his soul quiver, threatening to just escape right through his mouth or something else anime-like. Damn, he was the biggest meme. 

“But now we have Lily, and when she’s old enough, she can pilot the blue lion so that we can form Voltron and defeat the Galra,” Shiro said seriously, causing Lance’s soul the calm the hell down for at least a minute. 

“Thank you for explaining that,” Lance began, “but won’t it be a while until she’s old enough to pilot a huge space lion?” 

“Well, yeah,” Pidge piped up. “Can she even walk?”

“Yes, she can walk. She upgraded from crawling a few weeks ago, if you must know, and I’m proud of her. But it’s going to be years before she can fulfil her purpose and…” Lance answered, billions of thoughts racing around his mind.

“And?” Keith said from beside him, causing Lance to look at him, and therefore causing his soul to want to do questionable things  _ again _ . 

“And I’m guessing you guys want me to help raise her in that time, right?” he said, trying to stay on track and looking back at Shiro and Allura, who were seemingly in charge. 

“Well, yes,” Allura answered, shifting as if she were uncomfortable. “We can’t really take you back now, it wouldn’t be safe for you and I don’t think that any of us could raise Lily ourselves.”

That’s when it struck Lance. Everything in his head felt like it was caving in. It was like being thrown into a nightmare with no way out. Sure, he was sitting next to his dream boy and everyone else seemed nice enough and he was in outer-fucking-space, which was  _ cool,  _ but he didn’t belong there. He belonged at home, chasing his siblings around, making dinner for everyone, and then watching “Attack on Titan” at 3 in the morning. Not here- not useless. His parents would freak out, especially his mom. People would be looking for him, but they wouldn’t find him. And he would be throwing his family’s lives out of order so that he could be a space nanny, and- he couldn’t do anything about it. Saving the galaxy was important, and if he didn’t take care of Lily, it sounded like the galaxy wouldn’t stand much of a chance. 

“I know this isn’t easy for you,” Shiro said, and it was true, and it didn’t help Lance out at all, “but we really need you to do this. The galaxy is in jeopardy.” 

Lance nodded, because he knew he was stuck; because he knew that there was no reason to argue. But he felt like there was a Boa Constrictor inside of his chest, squeezing him, and making it hard to breath. 

“Thanks for explaining,” Lance said, standing up. “I think I have the gist of what’s going on here… I think I should go check on Lily now, though.” 

“Oh, uh, sure,” Shiro said. His eyes were wide, but he didn’t seem upset that Lance wanted to get out of there. “Do you remember how to get to the nursery? Someone can take you-”

“It’s okay,” he said, forcing a smile. “I think I remember.”

 

***Vol***Vol...tron?***

 

He ended up taking a few wrong turns and then back tracking, but eventually he ended up in the small, colorless nursery. 

Lance stood over the space crib, looking down at the sleeping little girl below him. She looked so peaceful now, but if everything went according to plan, her life would be anything  _ but  _ peaceful. 

And that’s when it hit. Lance McClain could keep it together just like anyone else- until it was okay to cry. 

It was like everything was coming crashing down around him, but he’d have to be strong for Lily, and somehow that made the cloud over his head seem darker. 

He muffled his crying into his hand, not wanting to wake the baby and not wanting anyone passing by the room to hear. The tears kept coming, though, like a flood. When would he see his family again? How long would his mother cry like this, not knowing if her son was even  _ alive?  _ How much pain would he endure, and how much would he cause. His shoulders shook, and more than anything, he wanted to be held and comforted and told that everything would be okay, even if it wouldn’t be. 

And then the door opened, and he froze, thankful that his head was turned away from the door. 

“Wow, you actually made it. I thought you’d get lost, since this place it so-” Keith was saying, and then he stopped suddenly and Lance wanted to  _ die. _ “Is everything okay?” 

Lance was an ugly cryer. He had accepted it long ago, after he saw his red, puffy eyes, blotchy face, and running knows in the mirror. He vowed never to let anyone even remotely cute see him cry, and it just so happened that Mister 11/10 was standing right behind him and had stumbled in on him in the middle of a sobbing session. 

Lance cleared his throat and, in a deep voice that he could keep from shaking, said, “Yeah, everything's fine.” 

The room was quiet for a moment, but then he heard Keith take a few steps toward him and all Lance could think about was how fucked he was. 

“Are you sure?”

There weren’t many options with Keith now at his side, and in a rush of conflicting emotions, Lance turned, revealing his tear-stained cheeks and whispered, “No, I’m not sure. I’m not sure about anything right now.”

Keith’s reaction was almost funny. He froze, eyes wide, and the fact that he had no idea how to respond written all over his face. The two stood there, over the sleeping blue paladin, for what felt like years, their eyes locked in a way that was both awkward and not awkward all at the same time. 

Finally Keith broke the silence. “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice honest. Slowly, he reached out and, after hesitating, rested a hand on Lance’s shoulder. “I’m sure this is, um, a lot to take in.”

Lance was tempted to make some smart-ass comment like  _ “no shit, Sherlock”,  _ but there was no way. Because somehow, this boy meant what he was saying, very sincerely. And it made Lance’s heart flutter in his chest. “It’s okay. It’s just- yeah, it’s a lot.” He turned and wiped his eyes on his sleeve then, unsure of where conversation was headed. 

“Do you… do you want to talk about it?” Keith said, stiffly. 

The two found themselves locking eyes again, and Lance was surprised. Surprised because his first impression of the jaw-droppingly hot boy beside him hadn’t been so great, and a heart-to-heart hadn’t seemed all that likely. But maybe he did need to talk, and Keith had already seen him cry. Why not? “Um, sure,” he answered. 

“We should go somewhere where there isn’t a sleeping baby,” Keith suggested, gesturing to Lily. 

“Yeah, probably a good idea. Anywhere in particular you wanna go?” Lance asked, trying to act casual, like they weren’t about to discuss his feelings. 

Keith paused for a moment, and Lance could tell that he was thinking from the expression on his face, and it was so  _ cute. _ “Yeah, I know a place. It’s got a great view,” Keith replied after a moment.

“Lead the way,” Lance said, his knees becoming more jello than flesh and bones by the second.

 

***Vol***Vol...tron?***

 

Lance’s jaw dropped, like it hadn’t already done that enough times today. Keith had taken him to a room that was almost entirely window, so that all of the stars in the galaxy were seemingly visible; it was breathtaking. 

“This is amazing,” he breathed, staring at the spectacular view. He’d never seen anything like it in his life. 

“Yeah,” Keith said, wandering to sit in front of one of the portions of window. “When I found it, I spent countless hours just staring at all of the stars…”

Lance took a seat beside Keith and crossed his legs, letting his eyes rest on the beauty in front of him. 

Time passed, silence stretching out between them, but it was the comfortable kind of silence. Eventually, Keith spoke. “So, I know you’re kind of upset. I should have been upset when I left earth, but I actually wasn’t,” he admitted. 

Lance glanced over at the boy next to him, whose eyes were glued to the expanse of galaxy in front of him. “Why weren’t you upset to leave?” he asked.

“Because I wasn’t leaving anything behind. My mom died when I was born, and my father died when I was young,” he explained quietly. “I wasn’t ever that great at making friends… I’m sure that’s not too hard to believe. Leaving earth was… it was the best thing that ever happened to me. But I understand that it wasn’t the same for you.” Keith turned and the two locked eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time that say, and Lance felt like he could understand everything just from the pain in Keith’s eyes. 

“I’m sorry,” he said, even though he didn’t mean to say it. It just kind of slipped out.

“Why are you sorry?” Keith asked, cocking his head to the right. 

“I just- I can’t imagine that. I’ve always been surrounded by people, and now I’ve left my family behind, and I know how worried they’ll be- and it’s not fair. It’s not fair for someone to  _ not  _ have that,” Lance said in one breath, the words pouring out of his lips unchecked. 

Keith smiled then. It was unexpected, and it beautiful, more beautiful than the galaxy that stretched out in front of them. “I guess that’s true, but it’s okay. I’m okay now… Everyone here has become my family.”

Lance smiled back, not even entirely on purpose. “This is the most terrifying and amazing thing that’s ever happened to me,” he admitted. “Even if it wasn’t supposed to.”

He could have sworn that he saw a sparkle in the other boy’s eye when he answered, “I’m pretty sure you’ve always been meant to come here.” 


End file.
